The Monday-morning rally, at a Boston Police VFW post in Dorchester, will take place just before McCain helps raise money downtown at a high-dollar event. Donations collected there will go toward a joint fund-raising committee set up between the Gomez campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The Arizona Republican’s Boston visit comes as Massachusetts’ two most recent nationally prominent Republicans have been largely absent from the Senate race. Neither former governor Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, nor former senator Scott Brown has played a significant public role in the campaign, though Gomez’s camp is littered with former aides to both men.

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Both Gomez and McCain are former Navy pilots and graduates of the US Naval Academy. Gomez is also a former Navy SEAL.